Vending machine having a lock-out means



OCt. 31, 1967 J. NATHAN ETAL 3,349,961

VENDING MACHINE HAVING A LOCK-OUT MEANS Filed Sept. 8, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 8 I C45: C46 75- 2; 2: @52 Q W6? 0a 0 g, 4a I] 4% 96 C n 17 C 0% 0 a? ,7 @U

CQUE E C46 Q 19 /6 INVENTORS. JEROME Nam/AN. BY Two/W75 H. CH0 75/70.

Oct. 31, 1967 NATHAN ET AL 3,349,961

VE NDING MACHINE HAVING A LOCK-OUT MEANS Filed Sept. 8, 1964 & 4/ 1/ 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTCRS.

Jaw/-15 NHTH/JN. BY THO/1H5 H. CF07" Au.

HTTOPNEY.

Oct. 31, 1967 NATHAN ET AL 3,349,961

VENDING MACHINE HAVING A LOCK-OUT MEANS Filed Sept. 8, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 (t 46 INVENTORS.

JEROME /VA THAN.

BY Tuomns/v. CROTE/IU.

HOLD RELAY Z3 VEND RELAY Oct. 31, 1967 J NATHAN ETAL VENDING MACHINE HAVING A LOCK-OUT MEANS Filed Sept. 8, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 M0 y a W w M. wm w M A K Tl m MI W m v A L fl a L? 2 i I .w/ 41 /31 i w1||| 1.||. /H E Q U F A A7 3 Na? w Wm my 3 F r g 6M1 2% y, A w A 1 5:; A i A, j A) M0 Z a. A 2/ 0 4 J -11; -LlL: 1--- fid ww e fi md M @J W M a F M A, A

United States Patent 3,349,961 VENDING MACHINE HAVHN'G A L0 CK-OUT lVfEANS Ierome Nathan, Manchester, and Thomas H. Croteau, Hartford, Conn, ass'ignors to'The'Seeburg Corporation, Chicago, HL, a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 8, 1964, Ser. No. 394,868 24 Claims. -(Cl. 221125) This invention relates to a vending machine and more particularly to mechanism for dispensing vended packaged goods, such as canned or bottled drinks and the like; this machine being-of the type fully shown and described in U.S. Patent No. 3,122,269, dated February 25, 1964.

An object of the present invention is to greatly simplify the mechanism of said machine to materially increase its durability and to reduce its cost of manufacture as well as to render said mechanism much easier to adjust for the sizes of the articles to be dispensed.

Another object is to provide certain improvements whereby the machine is rendered more efiicient in its operation.

A further object is to provide a simplified mechanism for such machines which is more rugged in its construction,.and'therefore less likely to get out of order, and easier to operate.

A still further object is to so position the article being dispensed as to enable the purchaser to more conveniently take hold of it and remove it from the machine.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following description and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is anelevational front view showing a vending machine of the type embodying the present invention, with the door thereof removed.

FIG. 2 is an elevational front view of the exterior of said vending machine.

FIG. 3 is a general sectional front view of the vending unit of said machine.

FIG. 4 is an elevational front view of said unit.

FIG. 5 is a partly sectional plan view illustrating the mechanism of said unit on a larger scale.

FIG. 6 is an elevational front view of the upper por tion of said vending unit.

FIG. 7 is a sectional front view on line 7-7 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a sectional front view on line 88 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a front view illustrating the operation of the interlock mechanism of said unit.

FIG. 10 is an elevational rear view of the upper portion of said interlock mechanism.

FIG. 11 is a similar view illustrating the operation of said interlock mechanism.

FIG. 12 is a similar view of said interlock mechanism further illustrating its operation.

FIG. 13 is a fragmental, partly sectional, side view showing the construction of a portion of said interlock mechanism.

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary, partly sectional, plan view of a portion of said interlock mechanism.

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary section-a1 plan view of a portion of the frame of said unit.

FIG. 16 is an elevational side view of a portion of said unit showing the adjusting means for the shelves thereof.

FIG. 17 is an elevational rear view of said adjusting means.

FIG. 18 is a sectional rear view thereof.

FIG. 19 is a diagrammatical view of the electric circuit for controlling the operation of said vending ma chine.

As shown more particularly in FIGS. 1 and 4, the said vending machine includes a case '5 having a chamber 6 within which is mounted our improved vending unit and suitable related apparatus, such as -a refrigerating unit (not shown). The said case has a front door 7 which is suitably hinged thereto, as at.8.

This invention is particularly adapted for use in machines for vending packaged goods which include a container, such as a can or bottle. In this instance, the machine being illustrated is as used for vending drinks, or like goods, in cans but the same machine may readily be used for vending goods in bottles with only a few minor adjustments required. If desired, the same machine may vend both bottles and cans.

Our improved vending machine comprises a vending unit which has a frame 9 providing front and back walls 10 and 11 respectively, and a side wall 12. A desired number of dispensing mechanisms are provided in said machine and each of said mechanisms has associated therewith an inclined shelf 13 that is pivotally mounted at 13-a between said front and back walls and is selectively adjust-able for cans or bottles of various diameters by means of supporting bars 14 which are insertable across said front and back walls through a series of elongated holes 15 therein for supporting said shelf in adjusted position.

A chute 16 is provided for storing the cans, indicated at 17., from which said cans will roll onto the shelf 13 as they are dispensed ,by vending operations of the respective vending unit.

Each dispensing mechanism comprises an elongated gate 18, that is cross-sectionally shaped to provide article retaining and blocking portions 18a and 18-h, respectively and disposed longitudinally parallel to said side wall 12. The said gate is pivotally and slideably .mounted in said front and back walls by means of an elongated hub 19 extending through the bearing 20 in the front wall 10 and a shaft 21 which extends through the bearing .22 in the back wall 11 and has an operating lever 23 rigidly connected thereto.

Said shaft 21 is inserted through a hub portion 24 and rigidly secured to the gate by a dowel pin 25 extending crosswise through said hub portion.

The lever 23 has a locking projection 26 which is insert-able through a locking hole 27 in the back wall 11 to lock the gate 18 against rotation when in its normal position and said projection is biased into said hole by a suitable spiral spring 28 which is disposed between the back wall and the end of the gate to bias said gate forwardly into its normal position in said vending unit, as shown in FIG. 5. A push knob 29 is provided on the front end of said gate for manually moving said gate longitudinally against the force of the spring 28 to remove the projection 26 from the hole 27 and thereby permit rotation of said gate for a dispensing operation; the said knob being rotatably mounted in the hub by a shaft 30 to prevent tampering, such as when a person attempts to rotate the gate manually by'forceably tryingto rotate said knob.

All of the gates 18 are retained in their normal and locked position by means of a common operating bar 31 which normally abuts the free ends of the levers 23 to prevent longitudinal movement of the respective gates and thereby retain the projections 26 of said levers in locking position within the hole 27. Said operating bar is vertically slideable on bearings 32 that project from the back wall 11 and have screws 33 threaded thereto which extend through elongated slots 34 in said bar.

As clearly shown in FIGS. 8 to 13, the said operating bar is moveable vertically by a crank 35 on a shaft 36 which is driven by a reduction gear 37 of an electric motor 38 and is connected to the operating bar by a stud 39 extending through a transverse slot in said bar.

Said operating bar is normally disposed in lowered position, as shown in FIG. 10, and is provided with a corner notch 40, for each of the levers 23, and said notches are normally out of register with their respective levers but brought into register therewith to permit longitudinal movement of the respective gates 18 in the manner hereinafter described.

To prevent more than one gate from being moved simultaneously when said notches are in register with the levers 23, there is provided an interlock assembly 41 of the type described in the above referred to patent. Said interlock includes a channel bar 42 on a bracket 43, between which are disposed a plurality of flat wedge-shaped cam members 44, one for each lever 23, and mating bars 45 interposed between said cam members to transfer longitudinal motion to extend the length of the assembly so that the top bar 46 will cause operation of a suitable electric switch 47, herein referred to as a vend switch.

In their normal operative position, all of the members 44, 45 and 46 lie within channel 48 of the bar 42 and rest upon stationary supporting plates 49 which are disposed in slots 51 in said mating members and secured to the said channel bar 42 and bracket 43 by screws 50. Each cam member 44 has a triangular portion 52 and a projection 53 extending therefrom. The said triangular portion being normally disposed in front of a notch 54 and the projection 53 being normally in register with a notch 55 in the opposite wall of the channel 48 whereby, in their normal position, any of said cam members can be moved laterally by an abutment 56 which is provided on each of the operating levers 23 and is adapted to enter said notch 54 and actuate its respective cam member, when the respective gate is moved longitudinally, to initiate a vending operation of said machine.

When any one of the cam members 44 is actuated and moved laterally, as shown in FIG. 9, its projection 53 enters its respective notch 55 and the said member is thereby locked in that position against upward movement. All members 44 and 45 below the actuated cam member are then prevented from moving laterally or upwardly and those members above the actuated cam member are moved upwardly thereby, whereupon said cam members will be prevented from moving laterally by being out of register with their respective notches 55. The upward movement of those members above the actuated cam member will cause the finger 57 on the top mating bar 46 to actuate the said vend switch 47.

To prevent fraudulent attempt to actuate one of the cam members 44 without first inserting the required coin, and when the operating bar is in its normal position, by the application of excessive force upon the knob 29 sufficient to bend the respective operating lever 23 against the operating bar 31 and thereby cause operation of the vend switch 47, our invention further provides a stop bracket 58 which extends laterally from said operating bar and is normally disposed above and adjacent to the top mating bar 46 so that said bar cannot be raised until a coin has first been deposited and the operating bar 31 has been moved to its select position as shown in FIG. 11.

A spring 59 is provided to bias all of the members 44, 45 and 46 downwardly and thus assist them to return to their normal position upon the actuated cam member 44 returning to its normal position.

It will be understood from the above description that initial longitudinal movement of any gate 13 will cause its abutment 56 to move the respective cam member 44 laterally and that, when any one of the cam members 44 has been so moved, all of the remaining cam members are prevented from being moved laterally until the first moved cam member has been returned to its normal position. Thus, the said interlock 41 locks out and prevents operation of all the gates 18 except the one which is first actuated and, at the same time, actuates the vend switch 47 and thereby initiates a vending operation as above described.

To prevent actuation of a gate, when its respective shelf 13 is empty of cans, we provide in each gate a stop damper 60 which is pivoted in the end of the shaft 21 and in a boss 61 within its respective gate and hangs down from said pivotal points so that it swings in the path of the cans entering said gate. A stop 62 is provided on the back wall 11 to engage the inner end of said stop damper while there are no cans within the gate and thereby prevent longitudinal movement of said gate and, consequently, the vending operation of said mechanism for that particular gate. When a can enters the gate, it swings said stop damper out of register with the stop 62, as shown in FIG. 7, and permits longitudinal movement of the gate.

In order to guide the cans into the gates 18 as they roll upon the inclined shelves, there is provided for each gate a cam shaped guide flange 63 which extends inwardly from the front wall 10 and locates said cans inwardly of the front end wall of the gate. The said guide flange is preferably formed by a lancing operation which leaves a hole 64 in the front wall 10 that provides a window through which a user of the machine may observe whether or not a can is contained in vending position within any particular gate. The said hole 64 is supplemented with a hole 65 adjacent thereto to facilitate observation of the cans and the said holes are made to define an arrow pointing to the delivery opening in which the vended cans will be delivered.

To facilitate the removal of a can from the delivery position, portions 66 and 67 of the front wall 10 are offset inwardly, as shown in FIG. 15, to provide a delivery notch 68 adjacent the side wall 12 and the said front wall portions are cut out at the level of each shelf 13 to provide a delivery opening 69 into which the cans are delivered in position to protrude forwardly from the wall portion 66 so that it will be easy for the customer to take hold of said cams to remove them from the machine. To position said cans to protrude further forward through the opening 69, so that they may be more easily taken hold of, there is associated with each of said holes a deflector bar 70 which is adapted to engage the cans as they roll into delivery position and deflect them forwardly in said opening, as indicated in FIG. 10.

In addition to the vend switch 47, there are also provided a hold switch 71 and a limit switch 72 which are mounted adjacent to the crank shaft 36 and actuated by cams 73 and 74, respectively, that are mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith.

It is intended that this vending machine shall not be operable until a required coin, or token, has been deposited into a coin controlled mechanism (not shown) through a slot, such as shown at 75 in the front of the machine, and the deposit of said coin is intended to actuate a suitable electric control circuit, such as illustrated in FIG. 19, to condition said machine for the selection of a can from any one of the shelves 13 and to render the machine operative for a vending operation as the selection is made.

Coin operated mechanisms are well known in the art and any suitable form of such mechanisms may be employed to operate an electric switch in said control circuit which is herein called the select switch.

The operation of our improved vending machine will be more clearly understood from the illustration of said control circuit in FIG. 19 of the drawings and is as follows:

As shown, the said control circuit includes a suitable source of electric current through conductors indicated at C1 and C2. Upon the deposit of the required coin in the slot 75, the coin operated mechanism will actuate the select switch 76 and move the blade 77 thereof from its normal position against the contact 78 into engagement with the contact 79 and then return said blade to its normal position. Such engagement of the blade 77 with the contact 79 will establish a circuit between C-1 and C-2 through switch 76, solenoid 80 of the hold relay and switch 84 and energize said solenoids. This will close the switch 81 and keep solenoid 80 energized to retain switch 81 closed after the blade 77 has returned to its normal position against the contact 78. The return of said blade to its normal position will establish a circuit between 6-1 and C-2 through switch 81 select switch 76, hold switch 71 and motor 38 and thereby start said motor and cause rotation of crank 35 which will then raise the operating bar 31 to the select, or gate unlocking, position shown in FIG. 11, wherein its notches 40 are in register with the abutment 82 on the free ends of the respective gate operating levers. As the said operating bar reaches its select position, the cam 73 will open the hold switch 71 to stop the motor 38 and close said switch to the normally open vend switch 47 while the cam 74 will close the limit switch 72 to the switch 85.

At this point of the vending operation, the operating bar 31 will remain in select position until the customer makes his selection and presses the respective knob 29 inwardly for the particular can which he has selected. Pressing said knob inwardly will cause the gate 18, which is retaining the selected can, to move longitudinally and thereby cause the respective abutment 82 on the lever 23 of said gate to enter the respective notch 40 in the operating bar and thus permitthe abutment 56 to actuate the respective cam member 44 of the interlock and thereby raise the top bar member 46 and close the vend switch 47. Closing of said vend switch 47 will establish a circuit between C-1 and C-2 through select switch 76, hold switch 71, said vend switch 47 and a solenoid 83 of a vend relay and thereby energize the said solenoid. This will open switch 84, to deenergize the solenoid 80 and close the switches 85 and 86. Switch 85 will then establish a circuit between C-1 and C-2 through said switch 85, limit switch 72 and solenoid 83 of the vend relay and keep said solenoid energized. A circuit will then be established between C1 and C-2 through switch 85, limit switch 72, switch 86 and motor 38. Said motor will then rotate crank 36 further and thereby carry the operating bar 31 from its select position, shown in FIG. 11, through the position shown in FIG. 12 and back to its normal position shown in FIG. 10. This movement of the operating bar will rock the lever 23 upwardly and downwardly and thereby also rocking the respective gate to the position of the bottom gate shown in FIG. 7, wherein it will release the selected can 17 and block the following cans, and then return to its normal position, shown by the upper two gates, wherein the following can will enter the respective gate while the vended selected can rolls into delivery position in the delivery opening 69. As the vanded can rolls into said delivery position, it engages the respective deflector bar 70 and is pushed forwardly in said opening into the position shown in dotted lines in FIG. 5, wherein it can be easily taken hold of by the customer and removed from the machine.

During the movement of the lever 23 from the select position shown in FIG. 11, through the position shown in FIG. 12 and back to its normal position, the locking projection 26 on the actuated lever 23 will be biased against the surface of the back wall 11 by the spring 28 and, when said lever is returned to its normal position by the operating bar 31, said projection will snap forwardly into its respective locking hole 27 and thereby lock the respective gate in its normal position.

As the crank 36 reaches its normal position, shown in FIG. 10, the hold and limit cams 73 and 74 will return their respective switches 71 and 72 to their normal positions, shown in FIG. 19, whereupon the limit switch 72 will open the electric circuit to denergize the solenoid 83 and return the vend relay to its normal position and thereby complete the vending cycle of operation of the machine.

It will be understood from the above description that, by our invention, we have provided a vending machine which is extremely simple in construction, and therefore very durable and troublefree. Our invention further provides a vending machine which is extremely simple to operate; it requiring simply the deposit of the required coin to condition the machine for a selection by the customer, which he is allowed to do at his leisure. Then, by simply pressing a knob for the particular article selected, the said machine will automatically complete a vending operation and deliver said article in position to be conveniently and easily removed from the machine by the customer.

It is of course to be understood that, while we have disclosed the particular embodiment of our invention illustrated in the drawings, the said embodiment may be modified to a greater or lesser extent without departing from the scope of our invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a machine for vending containers, a frame having a plurality of shelves for supporting containers, a separate gate for each of said shelves slideably and swingably mounted in said frame and adapted to engage a container on its respective shelf, a gate operator common to all of said gates for operating selected gates individually, a series of abutments, one for each gate, each operative upon sliding movement of the respective gate to control said operator, and an interlock operable by each of said abutments to stop simultaneous sliding movement of said gates and to actuate said operator.

2. In a machine for Vending containers, vending mechanism including a frame having a plurality of shelves for supporting containers, at swingable gate for each of said shelves slidably mounted in said frame and normally adapted to engage a container on its respective shelf, a separate lever on each of said gates for swinging same and movable longitudinally therewith, each of said levers having a locking portion engageable with an abutment in said frame for locking its respective gate in its normal position against swinging movement, a spring for biasing said lever longitudinally and said locking portions into locking engagement with said abutment in the frame, a gate operator common to all of said gates for operating selected gates independently and having a series of notches therein adapted to permit disengagement of said locking portions from their respective abutments and operatively receive said levers, an abutment on each of said gates operable by sliding movement thereof to control said operator, and an interlock operable by said abutments on the gates to stop simultaneous sliding movement of said gates and to actuate said operator.

3. The subject matter set forth in claim 2, wherein said abutment on the gates are provided by a portion of each of said levers.

4. The subject matter set forth in claim 2 wherein each of said gates is biased into its normal position in said frame by said springand manually operable means are provided for sliding said gate against the force of said spring.

5. In a machine for vending containers, vending mechanism including a frame having a plurality of shelves for supporting containers, an elongated gate for each of said shelves swingably mounted in said frame and longitudinally slidable inwardly therein, said gates being each normally positioned forwardly in the frame and adapted to engage a container on the respective shelf, a spring for each gate biasing same forwardly, a separate lever on each of said gates for swinging same and movable longitudinally therewith, each of said levers having a locking projection thereon engageable with an abutment on said frame upon forward sliding movement of said gate, a gate operator common to all of said gates for operating selected gates individually and having a series of notches therein for operatively receiving said levers and causing disengagement of said locking projections from their respective abutments upon inward movement of said gates, an abutment on each of said gates operable by inward sliding movement thereof to control said operator, and an interlock operable by said abutments on the gates to stop simultaneous sliding movement of said gates and to actuate said operator.

6. The subject matter set forth in claim including manually operable means for sliding said gates inwardly.

7. In a machine for vending containers, vending mechanism including a frame having a plurality of shelves for supporting containers, an elongated gate for each of said shelves having elongated hub portions rotatably and slideably mounting said gates in hearings in said frame, said gates being each positioned forwardly in the frame and adapted to engage a container on the respective shelf, a spring for each gate biasing same forwardly towards normal position, a separate lever on each of said gates for swinging same and movable longitudinally therewith, each of said levers having a locking projection thereon engageable with a locking abutment in said frame upon forward sliding movement of said gate, a gate operating member common to all of said gates for operating selected gates individually to disengage said containers, said operating member having a series of notches therein for operatively receiving said levers and causing disengagement of said locking projection from its respective locking abutment upon inward movement of the respective gate, an operating abutment on each of said gates, an interlock operable by said operating abutment to stop simultaneous sliding movement of said gates, and means rendered operable by said interlock to actuate said gate operating member.

8. In a machine for vending containers, vending mechanism including a frame having a plurality of shelves for supporting containers, an elongated gate for each of said shelves swingably mounted in said frame and longitudinally slideable inwardly therein, said gates being each normally positioned forwardly in the frame and adapted to engage a container on the respective shelf, means biasing said gates forwardly toward normal position in said frame, a separate lever on each of said gates for swinging same and moveable longitudinally therewith, each of said levers having a locking projection thereon engageable with a locking hole in said frame upon forward sliding movement of the gate, a gate operator common to all of said gates for operating selected gates individually and having a series of notches therein for operatively receiving the free ends of said levers and causing disengagement of said locking projection from its respective locking hole upon inward movement of the respective gate, said operator being operable to operate said lever to swing the respective gate for disengaging a container and to return said gate to its normal position wherein the locking projection on said lever is in register with the locking hole and is biased by said spring member into locking engagement with said hole and then to continue to its normal position wherein the notches in said operating member are out of register with said levers, abutments on said levers, an interlock operable by said abutments to stop simultaneous longitudinal movement of said gates, and means rendered operable by said interlock to actuate said operating member.

9. In a machine for vending containers, vending mechanism including a frame having a plurality of shelves for supporting containers, an elongated gate for each of said shelves swingably mounted in said frame and longitudinally slideable inwardly therein, said gates being normally each forwardly positioned in the frame and adapted to engage a container on the respective shelf, a spring for each gate biasing same forwardly, a separate lever on each of said gates for swinging same and moveable longitudinally therewith, each of said levers having a locking projection thereon receivable in a locking hole in said frame upon forward longitudinal movement of the respective gate, a gate operator common to all of said gates and adapted for operating a selected gate individually, said operator having a series of notches therein for operatively receiving said levers and causing disengagement of said locking projections from their respective locking holes upon inward movement of the gates, an abutment on each of said gates operable by inward longitudinal movement thereof to control said operator, an interlock operable by said abutment on the gates to stop simultaneous longitudinal movement of said gates and to actuate said operator, a control circuit for said mechanism including a select switch, a vend switch, means operable under the control of said select switch to move said operator into position to register said notches with said operating levers and under the control of said vend switch to move said levers to swing the gates for releasing the container and returning the levers to their normal position and the locking projections thereon into register with the locking holes in said frame, means for biasing each locking projection into engagement with the respective locking hole, means for actuating said select switch, an actuating abutment on each gate moveable with the longitudinal movement thereof, an interlock operable by said actuating abutment upon longitudinal movement of the selected gate to stop simultaneous operation of said gates and to actuate said vend switch, and manually operable means for manually moving said gate longitudinally.

10. In a machine for dispensing articles, mechanism including a frame having an inclined shelf for supporting said articles, a longitudinally moveable gate swingingly mounted in said frame about its longitudinal axis for engaging said articles, means operable by longitudinal movement of said gate for swinging same to release said articles, a stop member swingingly mounted upon said axis and normally hanging downwardly therefrom within said gate, and an abutment on said frame engageable by said stop member to prevent longitudinal movement of the gate, said stop member being held out of register with said abutment by an article contained within said gate to permit longitudinal movement of the gate to actuate said gate swinging means.

11. The subject matter set forth in claim 10 wherein said bafiie member is returned to its normal position by gravity.

12. In a machine for dispensing articles, mechanism including a frame having a front, a rear and a side wall, a shelf between said front and rear walls sloping towards said slde wall for supporting said articles and delivering them in delivery position adjacent to said side wall, a gate for engaging said articles, and a cam-shaped guide extending inwardly from said front wall for guiding said articles Into said gate; said guide comprising a portion lanced inwardly from said front wall and leaving an opening therein through which said articles may be seen.

13. In a machine for dispensing articles, mechanism including a frame having a front, a rear and a side wall, a shelf between said front and rear walls sloping towards said side wall for supporting said articles and delivering them in delivery position adjacent said side wall, a gate for engaging said articles, a cam-shaped guide extending inwardly from said front wall for guiding said articles into said gate, said guide comprising a portion lanced inwardly from said front wall and leaving an opening therein through which said articles may be seen, an additional opening adjacent to said former opening and therewith defining an arrow pointing to said delivery position, and a delivery opening at said delivery position.

14. In a machine for dispensing articles, mechanism including a frame having a front, a rear and a side wall, a shelf between said front and rear walls sloping down to a delivery position adjacent said side wall, said front wall having a recessed portion in register with said delivery position, and a delivery opening in the front and side wall portions of said recessed portion adapted to receive said article, the said article when in said delivery position protruding forwardly to facilitate taking hold of said article for removal from said machine.

15. The subject matter set forth in claim 14 including a deflector member for deflecting said article forwardly in said delivery opening as it moves into delivery position.

16. In a machine for dispensing articles, mechanism including a frame having a front, a rear and a side wall, a shelf between said front and rear walls sloping downward to a delivery position on said shelf adjacent said side wall, said front wall having a recessed portion adjacent said delivery position formed by wall portions bent inwardly from the front wall and laterally to said side wall, said recessed portion having a delivery opening therein in register with said delivery position, a chute leading to said shelf, and a guide bar on said chute for guiding said articles into said delivery opening as they roll down said shelf into delivery position, whereby said articles will protrude forwardly from said delivery opening to facilitate taking hold thereof.

17. In a machine for vending articles, vending mechanism including a frame having a plurality of shelves for supporting said articles, an elongated gate for each shelf longitudinally slideable in said frame and swingable to engage said articles, a lever on each of said gates for swinging same, an operating member having a plurality of notches therein to receive the ends of said levers, said notches being normally out of register with said ends of the levers, means for moving said operating member to select position wherein said notches are in register with said ends of the operating levers and to swing said gates to disengage said articles, a select switch for actuating said moving means to move said operating bar from its normal position into said select position, coin controlled means for actuating said select switch, a vend switch for actuating said moving means for moving said operating member to operate said levers for swinging said gates to disengage a selected article, an interlock operable by abutments on said gates to prevent simultaneous longitudinal movement of said gates and to operate said vend switch, and a stop abutment on said operating member engageable with said interlock to prevent actuation thereof by said abutments on the gates and thereby prevent operation of said vend switch while said operating member is in its normal position.

18. The subject matter set forth in claim 17 wherein said stop abutment includes a bracket mounted upon said operating member and moveable therewith to permit operation of said interlock to actuate said vend switch.

19. In .a machine for vending articles, vending mechanism including a frame having a plurality of shelves for supporting said articles, an elongated gate for each of said shelves slideably mounted in said frame and swingable to engage and release said articles, an operating lever upon each of said gates for swinging same, a locking projection on each of said operating levers engageable with a locking hole in the rear wall of said frame, an operating member having a series of notches therein to receive the ends of said levers, said notches being normally out of register with said ends of the levers, a spring for each gate .biasing same towards normal position and said locking projection into engagement with said locking holes, and an electric circuit for controlling said operating member, said circuit including a motor having a drive shaft for moving said operating member, a coin controlled select switch for causing operation of said motor to move said operating member from its normal position to select position wherein said notches of the operating member are in register with said ends of the operating levers, a vend switch for causing operation of said motor to move said operating member from said select position to rock said levers and thereby swing said gates to disengage said articles and return said gates to their normal positions and said locking projections into register with said locking holes in the frame and then return said operating member to its normal position wherein said notches are out of register with the ends of said levers, and an interlock operated by longitudinal movement of the selected gate to prevent simultaneous longitudinal movement of said gates and to actuate said vend switch, said longitudinal movement of the selected gate causing disengagement of said locking projections from said locking holes.

20. The subject matter set forth in claim 19 including a stop bracket moveable with said operating member and adapted to prevent actuation of said vend switch while said operating member is in its normal position.

21. In a machine for vending articles, vending mechanism including a frame having a plurality of sloping shelves for supporting said articles, an elongated gate for each of said shelves slideably mounted in said frame and swingable to engage and release said articles, operating levers upon each of said gates forswinging same, a locking projection on each of said operating levers engageable with a locking hole in the said frame and disengageable therefrom by longitudinal movement of the respective gate from its normal position, manually operable means for moving said gates longitudinally, an operating member having a series of notches therein to receive the ends of said levers, said notches being normally out of register with said ends of the levers, a spring for each gate biasing same towards normal position and said locking projection into engagement with said locking holes, and an electric circuit for controlling said operating member, said circuit including a motor having a drive shaft for moving said operating member, a coin controlled select switch for causing operation of said motor to move said operating member from its normal position to select position wherein said notches therein are in register with said ends of the operating levers, a hold switch operable by a cam on said shaft for deenergizing said motor to stop said operating member in said select position, an operating abutment on each of said gates, a vend switch for causing operation of said motor to move said operating member from its select position to rock said levers and thereby swing said gate to disengage said articles and return said gates to their normal positions and said locking projections into register with said locking holes in the frame and then return said operating member to its normal position wherein said notches are out of register with the ends of said levers, an interlock operable by said operating abutment of a selected gate upon longitudinal movement thereof from its normal position to prevent simultaneous longitudinal movement of said gates and to to actuate said vend switch, and a limit switch operable by a cam on said drive shaft to deenergize said motor upon the said operating member reaching its normal position.

22. Mechanism for dispensing articles including a shelf for supporting a series of articles in adjacent dispensing relationship, a movably mounted gate having a first position wherein one portion thereof engages the first of said articles to hold it in retained position on said shelf, said gate being movable to a second position for releasing said article for dispensing, wherein a second portion thereof.

blocks a second adjacent article when said gate is in said second position, manually engageable means on the exterior of said mechanism for giving an initial movement to said gate to release said gate for movement between said two positions, and means rendered operative upon said initial movement of said gate to cause positive movement of said gate to said second position for releasing said first article and blocking said second article, and then positively back to said first position for retaining said second article.

23. Mechanism as set forth in claim 22, wherein said manually engageable means includes an extension of said gate which projects to the exterior of said mechanism.

24. Mechanism as set forth in claim 22, wherein said gate is both pivotally and slidably mounted, said first and movement being a sliding movement.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Domeniconi 221280 Baternan 221301 Balkerna 221301 Richardson 221-90 Barnes 221-311 12 Mann 221-280 Caruso 221-125 Bookout et a1 221-125 Mnhlenbruch 19832 Lancaster 221311 Nordquist 221301 Rebu-rn 221-125 WALTER SOBIN, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT B. REEVES, Examiner. 

1. IN A MACHINE FOR VENDING CONTAINERS, A FRAME HAVING A PLURALITY OF SHELVES FOR SUPPORTING CONTAINERS, A SEPARATE GATE FOR EACH OF SAID SHELVES SLIDEABLY AND SWINGABLY MOUNTED IN SAID FRAME AND ADAPED TO ENGAGE A CONTAINER ON ITS RESPECTIVE SHELF, A GATE OPERATOR COMMON TO ALL OF SAID GATES FOR OPERATING SELECTED GATES INDIVIDUALLY, A SERIES OF ABUTMENTS, ONE FOR EACH GATE, EACH OPERATIVE UPON SLIDING MOVEMENT OF THE RESPECTIVE GATE TO CONTROL SAID OPERATOR, AND AN INTERLOCK OPERABLE BY EACH OF SAID ABUTMENTS TO STOP SIMULTANEOUS SLIDING MOVEMENT OF SAID GATES AND TO ACTUATE SAID OPERATOR. 